The intrepid travellers are just back from a trip around Sligo and Donegal on the west coast of Ireland. We headed over with L and K to help celebrate Chucks (an Australian guy Lester met in a hostel in Dublin 7 months ago) big 3 0. Chuck opted for the quiet life away from Dublin and lives in a little beachside town called Strandhill. Strandhill is georgous, especially when mother nature turns on the sun like she did while we were there. Chucks house is 3 doors down from the pub and 4 doors down from the beach. From the backyard you can see two mountains. Check out the pictures at www.geocities.com/alisoneire/gallery.html

On the Saturday we set off to prove that it is possible to go swimming in Ireland, and it wasn't that bad, once your body had become numb that is! Exposing our now pasty white bodies to the world was a little scary though, I guess we blended in well with the rest of the bathers.

After the swim we headed into Sligo town for supplies for the big BBQ we had that night. In the carpark of Tescos was a 'knacker van' as Chuck so elequently put it housing Madam Lee, the 7th daughter of the 7th daughter who could fortell the future. Experience junkies that we are, Sue and I paid our money to hear our fortunes. You will all be pleased to hear that I will be successfull, happy, find love and marraige and have 3 kids. I will also be staying in Ireland for a while and finding a nice house to live in...how does she do it!

Back to Strandhill for our celtic seaweed baths. A little less traumatic and more private than the Turkish variety, the seaweed bath consisted of a sauna followed by laying in a tub full of warm water and slimey soaked seaweed...very relaxing and my rhumatism has all but cleared up!

To celebrate Chucks birthday we cooked up a storm on the BBQ that night. The men had insisted that it was to be a non-ponce BBQ but it ended up getting very poncy with Steak, kebabs, sausages and even capsicum (OK that was my doing and the men didn't eat it!) After dinner we had a game of shuttle-cock and a bit of a sing along with Kieran on the guitar.

On Sunday morning we witnessed the inaugural flight of Chuck's newly constructed remote control aeroplane. And in the afternoon we climbed the local mountain Knocknerea to fly a remote control glider. The view from the top was amazing and it was so peacefull. Back in Strandhill, had a few beers in the glorious sunshine by the beach listening to a local band...can't get much better than that.

Left for Donegal the next day. Donegal is one of the most remote counties in Ireland, a haven for trad music and Irish culture enthusiasts who go out of the way to experience real Ireland. Donegal town is tiny, more like a very small village than a town. It rained all day so we didn't see much not that there was much to see. The next day we headed for Glencolmkille. Mile after mile of boggy green hills scattered with black faced sheep and small villages boasting little more than a general store and 2 or 3 pubs. We stayed in a hostel overlooking the water called Dooeys. It was run by an old lady called Mary who is like everyones grandma.

Taking advantage of the good weather we ran to catch the bus back to Carrick down the road to see Slieve League, the highest sea cliffs in Europe. We had no idea what we were in for - a local had told us it was 2 miles down the road but about 6 miles up a massive mountain we thought we would never make it! Totally unprepared for a walk in unsuitable cloths (luckily I had my boots on) and carrying everything but the kitchen sink (I didn't empty my daypack of things like the guidebook and my walkman and diary) we finally made it to the top to see the most magnificent view, and it was such a clear view that you could see all the way back to Sligo and the mountain that we had climbed 2 days before. 5 hours after we left Carrick we made it back and read on the back of a postcard 'Those who wish to explore Slieve League and other nerby cliffs must be prepared for hard climbing'! If only we had seen that earlier!

The next day we were too sore to do anything much so sat around admiring the view. Went out for some diddly diddly that night. I love the way that the whole town comes out, even on a wednesday night to socialise and have a few beers.

Back in Dublin now and back to the job hunting. Latest news is that I have an interview with a company called GSM - if I get the job Kieran will be my boss! We have booked tickets to Scotland for next Thursday (only £17 - bargain!) so stay tuned for more travel news - if I never find a job over here at least I can say that I traveled around a lot while I was here.